Classic Napoleon Cake

A refined version of the traditional Russian Napoleon cake, featuring delicate, buttery pastry layers and a rich, aromatic vanilla bean pastry cream.

Prep: 60 min · Cook: 45 min · Yield: 12 · Method: Oven

Ingredients

• 2 lbs puff pastry
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 large egg yolks
• 0.33 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 0.25 tsp salt

Cooking instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out the puff pastry into thin rectangles and prick them with a fork. Bake until golden brown and crisp. (about 20 min) — 400°F
2. Whisk sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Heat the milk in a saucepan until simmering, then gradually temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in half the hot milk. (about 5 min)
3. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened into a custard. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla bean paste and half of the butter. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and cool completely. (about 15 min)
4. Beat the remaining softened butter until pale and fluffy, then gradually beat in the cooled custard until smooth. (about 5 min)
5. Trim the baked pastry sheets and crumble the scraps. Layer the pastry sheets with the pastry cream, spreading evenly. Top and sides with the crumbled pastry bits, then chill to set.